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By this time of the year, Snezhnaya would be pure white, from head to toe. Not that it’s not white almost all year long, but winter makes it even more treacherous than usual for any inexperienced travellers. The snow piles up so high it’s easy to lose your way and freeze to death in an unfamiliar place, not to mention the sharp icicles hanging from trees, roofs and ledges, ready to pierce you through.
Yes, winters in Snezhnaya were not to be trifled with – an adventure only for the bravest souls.
Yet Childe didn’t associate them only with cold and danger. For him, winters were, ironically, a symbol of warmth. Cooking with his family, the smell of cinnamon and gingerbread spreading around the house, bickering of his siblings and his mother yelling at his dad to go plough the walkway; putting up decorations in preparation for the solstice, gathering around the fireplace drinking mulled wine and wishing each other a Happy New Year.
An opportunity to take a break from being Tartaglia and a chance to become Ajax yet again, if only for a short while. To pretend that person still exists.
"But first things first," Childe sighed looking out the open window of his Northland Bank office. Even though Liyue wasn’t as hot as usual in winter, the cool air enveloping the town still couldn’t compare to the frigid aura of his homeland.
The man stretched, massaged the painful spot between his neck and shoulder.
Just a few more days and I can finally go home.
But before the comfortable thought could pleasantly settle in his mind, a loud knock broke the silence of the chilly room.
Three quick and firm knocks, to be precise.
"Come in, Katya," Childe called inviting his secretary. They worked together long enough to know each other’s habits. The fact that he would stay at the office late because instead of working since the early morning the Harbinger preferred gallivanting around the countryside looking for 'fuses of excitement' aka 'a fight.' Or that Ekaterina was a very principled by-the-book kind of person and saw no problems bothering him with reports at seven pm when the rest of the staff was happily enjoying a dinner break.
Childe leaned back, the chair creaking under him, and folded his fingers over his stomach. He could only mourn her nonexistent spontaneity and sense of adventure.
"Katyusha moya, what kind of thrilling news do you bring me this time?"
The sarcasm wasn’t lost on the woman, but she didn’t seem fazed and still assaulted him with all the boring details of the bank’s proceedings. If anything, the months spent in Liyue had convinced Ajax he was not cut out to be a businessman – running things required way too much paperwork for his liking.
But luckily, that day Ekaterina had one particular report to share that made suffering through her earlier verbal diarrhoea a bit more bearable.
"There’s one more matter, sir," she added, looking at the final piece of paper with a frown. "It’s about your request."
Childe immediately perked up, like a starving dog that finally got the desired bone.
"Ah~! Is this about my comrade?"
"Yes," the woman confirmed. "It’s the report on the movements of sir Aether."
The Harbinger lately learnt that the famed Traveller once again graced Liyue with his presence, so he ordered the agents to keep an eye on him. It’s better to be safe than sorry, right? And knowing where to find Ae also meant knowing where to ambush the boy and ask for a spar in case of an especially boring emergency.
"He was first spotted helping the elderly in Qingce Village, then moved to Liyue Harbor and one of the agents said he saw him walking around the city with the second son of the Feiyun Commerce Guild and his exorcist friend, then—" She suddenly stopped the recitation, very unlike herself. Scanned the document once more and shook her head clearing her throat. "And that’s all."
Childe’s eyes narrowed. "Katya, come on, you see how bored I am, don’t leave me hanging like that."
The woman flinched. He might have been smiling at that moment, he might have been acting like a happy-go-lucky boy most of the time, but he was still her superior. And he was still a Harbinger, Tsaritsa’s very weapon. The shadow hiding behind his lifeless eyes was dangerous to provoke.
"I wasn’t trying to withhold any information, Master Childe, it’s just that the agent responsible for the final part of the report made a mistake."
"How so?" His fingers impatiently tapped an irregular rhythm on the desk’s polished surface while the secretary tiredly pinched the bridge of her nose.
“He’s young and new and evidently didn’t know who we were really searching for. The report says a traveller with golden hair and unique clothing was spotted near the Chasm, but that person was a girl. So it obviously couldn't be sir Aether," she finished matter-of-factly.
And the woman was absolutely right – it couldn’t be comrade. Yet coming across someone so easily mistaken for Ae piqued Childe’s interest.
It couldn’t be... could it?
The person Aether was so desperately searching for.
"It’s worth checking out..." the Harbinger muttered quietly, scratching his chin as he quickly scanned the report himself.
"Excuse me?" Ekaterina prompted, not understanding what her boss just meant. His thoughts were already far away, though.
Not wasting any more time, the man got up and strode towards the door. Glanced at the dumbfounded secretary just before walking out, as if only then remembering she was still there.
"Go get yourself dinner, Katya!" He winked as the woman blinked in confusion. "You only live once!"
And with these teasing parting words, Childe disappeared from her sight.
*~*~*
The sky got dark by the time the Harbinger arrived in the Chasm. He wasn’t pressed for time, though, as the report said that the mysterious girl appearing around this area was always spotted late into the night. She was alone, lost in thought and did nothing but gaze at the stars.
Childe heard some stories from Aether – not that the boy readily shared his worries with him, they sadly weren’t that close, but as a fellow big brother, the Harbinger could somehow understand him even without having that heart-to-heart.
The feeling of breathlessness when you realise your family might be in danger was the same no matter who you were: a Traveller from another world or an "evil" Fatuus.
Plus... Childe couldn’t deny that he was a bit curious about this mysterious little sis.
Comrade’s flesh and blood...
Was she as strong as him? As quick as him? As smart as him?
Or maybe they were nothing alike, the girl had no clue how to wield a sword and her talents lay elsewhere?
Such questions rattled around Childe’s head as he slowly climbed towards the highest vantage point of the Chasm. He didn’t have a lot of opportunities to visit this place, but when the Harbinger felt like it, he sometimes stood at the top of its tallest rock and watched the darkness yawning down below.
The abyss stretching beneath his feet.
It wasn’t the same kind of Abyss that swallowed him all those years ago, but a certain sense of familiarity still tingled him inside. Like a butterfly trapped in his stomach and lungs.
Terror.
Panic.
Excitement.
So many different emotions and sensations always crawled under his skin, not letting the man settle down and sit still.
And it seemed he wasn’t the only one tempted to confront the Abyss from time to time, look it in the eye and ask "what’s next?" – or maybe the person calmly sitting on the ledge by his favourite spot was the Abyss’s answer?
It was the Abyss glancing back.
Childe didn’t slow down or hesitate. There was no point in trying to hide his presence because the Harbinger could feel the girl already knew he was there. The hair standing on his hands and neck proved as much.
A grin stretched across his lips.
She’s dangerous.
Maybe even more than Aether.
The blonde didn’t exude any bloodlust but that didn’t matter – those who were truly strong could very easily hide their intent to kill and approach you with a friendly smile before thrusting a blade right into your unsuspecting heart.
Childe’s pulse quickened.
He stopped by her side and glanced down with hands nonchalantly kept in his pockets.
"A strange place you picked for a picnic, girlie."
She didn’t even bother returning the stare.
"A strange place you picked for a stroll, boy."
Her voice was calm and melodic. Cold yet not emotionless, even though the emotions sealed within it were hard to discern – it surprised him. Childe didn’t know what he expected, but certainly not this image of a graceful swan bathed in moonlight. It shimmered on her hair and glistened on the Inteyvat’s petals tucked above her ear.
She looked delicate. Small. Otherwordly. Ephemeral in her pretty white dress. Like a fairy.
The girl finally turned to meet his gaze. A reply froze on Childe’s tongue.
She was pretty. Beautiful, even.
Her golden eyes sparkled like stars above their heads but they also were a bit... hollow. Reminded the Harbinger of a sight he saw every day in the mirror.
She saw it, too. She really was from the Abyss.
He admittedly didn’t believe the rumours about Aether’s twin actually ruling over that hellhole, but now the stories of the Abyssal Princess didn’t seem that exaggerated anymore.
The girl before him certainly looked like royalty – despite the deceptively soft appearance had a domineering presence that almost convinced him to kneel before her right then and there. To bow as the pressure of unexplainable darkness weighted on his head and shoulders.
In another life, he probably wouldn’t mind that much. A kindred soul, that one was; he sensed that instantly. And an enemy on every front.
Childe sat down and let his legs dangle. Wasn’t bothered that it would only take a small push to let him plunge towards his death. She felt like someone who would rather do the dirty deed herself than use such underhanded tactics.
The girl scrunches up her nose. It would be cute if not for the dangerous glint in her eyes.
"I didn't allow you to join me."
"You didn’t forbid it either," the Harbinger answered with a shrewd smile. "Sharing is caring~"
She crossed her arms.
"So if there’s no caring, there’s no need for sharing either."
"Well," Childe shrugged and turned towards the moon; closed his eyes letting the cold glow envelop him in a pleasant embrace, "I could always get up and go find your brother instead."
A blade suddenly appeared at his throat!
One second there was nothing, in another a solitary drop of blood trickled down his neck painting a bright crimson line on his white skin. He gulped but didn’t lose his bravado at all. Didn’t back down or tried to move away. Quite the contrary, the Harbinger even had the audacity to grin!
"One thing is clear, girlie: you’re definitely quicker to draw a blade than Aether."
And she was ready to use it.
The look in her eyes told him everything he needed to know: she has killed before. Not once and not twice ended a life and never hesitated to do so. It was a sin that marked her soul yet didn't crush her spirit.
You would kill again if you had to, Childe realised not without a certain dose of respect.
Because what burned within her was greater, meant more than stained hands.
"Call me 'girlie' one more time and we will test if you’re quick enough to parry."
"I must say, that’s an exciting proposal," Childe chuckled finally gripping her sword and pushing it away. "I get a feeling you’re the kind of opponent I always longed to face. But you see, I’m set to finally return home next week so can we reschedule that battle for another time?"
They stared at each other for a long moment. No one turned away.
As if they were drawn to each other, towards a collision of blades, souls and hearts that could as well shake the whole world in its foundations.
The girl eventually yielded and the weapon disappeared in a cloud of sparks as quickly as it appeared. Her hand, now hanging in the air empty, reached out for his face instead. Her thumb lightly stroked the skin next to his eye. Lingered for a split second.
"Home, huh..." the blonde whispered dropping her hand and once again facing the stars. She seemed sad, wistful even.
Childe, however, couldn’t look away. The spot she touched burnt like fire.
This girl... she was nothing like what he imagined.
The man awkwardly cleared his throat.
"So?" Tried to change the topic. "Are you gonna tell me why you’re sitting here instead of meeting your brother? He’s quite desperate to find you, you know?"
"I let you live, but that didn’t mean I plan to chat with you," she snapped. The softness from just a few seconds ago almost seemed like a dream. Something he shouldn't have glimpsed.
"Come on, it’s only you and me here."
But she pursed her lips and stubbornly kept silent. When Childe started losing hope of getting any other information out of her, the girl suddenly perked up. And... Was she smiling?
The sight almost took his breath away.
Something unfathomable stirred inside him.
He gripped his jacket and crumpled it in his first. It was the only way to stop himself from reaching out and tugging the loose strand of her blonde hair wildly flapping on the wind behind her ear. It was weird. His body and mind. Both were sending him too many incomprehensible signals. Wanted him to do things he wasn’t used to.
The girl luckily didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she opened her palm and observed as the first flakes of snow drifted down from the heavens to land on her hand and melt into tiny drops of water.
The prickles of cold on his cheeks finally brought Childe back to reality. He lifted his head, mesmerised.
"It’s snowing..."
It was unbelievable. Almost impossible. Yet the blonde didn’t look surprised.
Was that what you were waiting for? Why she came here every single night and stubbornly gazed at the sky?
To see snowfall in a land that experiences it maybe once per hundred years.
A symbol that nothing is ever sealed in stone.
"He needs to finish his journey first," the girl whispered, staring at the snowflakes piling up on her hand. "And when all is said and done, we will be reunited. Properly this time."
Yet Childe couldn’t help but think that her words weren’t really an answer to his earlier question. More like a declaration she herself needed to make out loud. To steel her resolve and convince her to push forward no matter what.
He knew that feeling very well. When the world pins you against the wall, you don’t shrink into a ball and cry – you fight back. With everything you have. With your life on the line.
You’re in the middle of such a battle. Aether is just too blinded by love to notice.
And probably even gods themselves couldn't predict what would happen after she decides to openly wield her bloodlust and go for their throats.
Ah.
There it was again.
That tingling of excitement at the pit of his stomach.
"Fair enough. I guess I can pretend for a little while I’ve never met Aether’s precious little sister." Childe mockingly bowed.
She grimaced. A purple spark of lightning ignited in her golden eye, along with a tinge of black hidden in its shadow.
"You’re an infuriating human... But a fearless one, I’ll give you that," she sighed. "Though I shouldn’t be surprised, you reek of the Abyss’s corruption."
He flinched.
"You can hear its whispers, can’t you?" Her finger stabbed him in the chest. Her voice sounded almost hypnotising. "Every waking hour of the day, maybe even in your dreams too. With no way of breaking free."
She grabbed him by the chin and slightly tilted his head as if wanting to see him better. Study like some weird specimen she couldn’t quite crack just yet. His heart stuttered. "If you were to ever fall for its siren call, I... wouldn’t mind that much."
Snow silently fell around the two like a white curtain, making the confession all the more private and profound. As if at that moment they were the only people in the whole wide world.
Being with this girl like this, it... felt exhilarating. She was a temptress. A beautiful killer. A lion that appeared tame but could easily end your life with a single snap of her wrist.
The blonde suddenly let go and got up. Put a distance between them once more.
"Farewell, hollow boy marked by the Abyss. Try not to die and maybe we will meet again."
"Ajax," he suddenly blurted out jumping to his feet. "My name is Ajax."
"Hmmm," she pondered it and then smirked over her shoulder, facing the abyss down below. "You can call me Lumine."
And leaving him these parting words, the girl threw herself into the yawning darkness.
Childe’s heart almost stopped. He instinctively lunged forward, but even his speed was not enough. The man’s fingertips managed to only graze the fluttering white dress. With a curse on his lips, he helplessly watched her fall but then—!
A pyro abyss mage materialised out of nowhere and effortlessly caught Lumine mid-fall. Seconds later a fiery shield enveloped the two and they teleported out of sight.
Just like that, she was gone. The most wondrous woman he has ever encountered.
Childe released a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Rubbed his hand over his face.
"Comrade, your sister is absolutely nuts," the Harbinger muttered and laughed allowing his body to settle down after the sudden adrenaline burst.
Then something caught his eye: a solitary white feather lying on the ground. It almost glowed in the moonlight.
"It's from her hair," Ajax absentmindedly twirled it between his fingers. Such a simple and feeble thing...
"You too," Childe whispered into the night, admiring the falling snow. "Try not to die, Printsessa."
It would be one hell of a shame not to meet again.
And humming some kind of random winter tune of his homeland, the man pocketed the feather, turned on his heel and started his trek back to Liyue Harbor.